300 Level Courses

HIST-301 Great Debates in US History

This course offers an analysis and interpretation of the main themes in the history of the United States over a broad period of time that extends to the modern era. We will look at how issues such as race, class, gender, and the environment have shaped American history, as well as debates over the multiple meanings of that history. Class 3, Credit 3 (S)

HIST-302 Special Topics in History

This upper-level course will focus on a specific theme or topic in history, chosen by the instructor, announced in the subtitle, and developed in the syllabus. The topics of this course will vary, but the course number will remain the same, so be sure not to repeat the same topic. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered annually)

HIST-310 Global Slavery and Human Trafficking

This course examines historical and contemporary dimensions of global slavery and human trafficking. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the world's largest forced migration between continents, but it was only one of many slave trades that shaped societies throughout the world. In order to understand the historical significance of global slave trades, we will compare it to other systems of slavery. In examining the historical significance and legacies of the slave trade, we will link different regional histories to the growth of market-based capitalist economies into the twentieth century. The course will also examine the changing meaning of the term ‘slavery’ and examine some modern forms of forced labor, bondage, and slavery that persist to this day in all sectors of the global economy. We will explore the rise of human trafficking, and global anti-trafficking programs and campaigns. Part of the international studies degree program in a related track; the sociology/anthropology immersion; and the AFrica and the Diaspora immersion. Cross-listed with INGS-310 Global Slavery and Human Trafficking. Class 3, Credit 3 (varies)

HIST-321 Special Topics in Public History

Public history is the practice of history for, and by, audiences outside the classroom. This course will focus on a specific theme or topic in public history, chosen by the instructor, announced in the subtitle, and developed in the syllabus. The topics of this course will vary, but the course number will remain the same, so be sure not to repeat the same topic. Class 3, Credit 3 (S)

HIST-322 Monuments and Memory

Monuments are physical objects that were constructed to help us remember the past, but a deeper analysis reveals that the relationship between monuments and the memories they embody is complex and changes over time. We will tackle the process of memorializing, the monuments that result, and seek greater insight into the arguments these artifacts make about the past, the present, and our place in the world. Class 3, Credit 3 (F)

HIST-323 America's National Parks

The National Parks are some of America's most treasured and spectacular landscapes, but even these wild places are the product of historical forces. In this class, we will explore the history of America's National Parks, and use these spaces to unpack the relationship between Americans, their land, and their history. Class 3, Credit 3 (F

HIST-324 Oral History

Oral history is the craft of collecting information about the past from those who lived through it. There are few opportunities for historical research that is more satisfying or more challenging than oral history. In this class, we will learn about oral history methods, techniques, and ethics. We will read some of the finest examples of the genre. Then we will go out and add to the world's understanding of its past by conducting oral histories of our own. Class 3, Credit 3 (F)

HIST-325 Museums and History

Many more people learn history from museums than from textbooks. What is it that is so special about encountering the "real thing" in a museum? Why are Dorothy's Ruby Slippers the most visited artifact in the National Museum of American History? Do history museums themselves have an important history? Join us as we investigate the connections between our history, our museums, and the material artifacts that tell historical stories. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered annually)

HIST-326 Doing History in a Digital World

Digital history is a nebulous concept, but at its core is a recognition that the widespread availability of computers and their networks has fundamentally altered the way history is produced and consumed. Sources in digital format simultaneously present opportunities and challenges that force us to rethink what is possible in history. Digital tools including blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, and many others help bring history to new audiences in different ways. In this course, we will investigate the landscape of digital history and tackle the exciting task of creating and understanding history in the digital age. Class 3, Credit 3 (S)

HIST-330 Deafness and Technology

The deaf community has a long and complicated relationship with technological devices. The deaf community, for instance, was quick to embrace the new technology of moving pictures, and many deaf actors found work in early Hollywood during the silent film era. Most lost their livelihoods when sound was introduced to motion pictures. Deaf people were left out of the communication revolution brought about by the telephone for many years, but now the deaf community is increasingly a wired community, as texting, tweeting, and blogging makes more communication technologies accessible to deaf users. This course will explore the historical relationship between technology and deafness. It will consider how views of deafness frequently shape technology, that is, if deafness is viewed as a pathological illness, technologies are focused on curing it (e.g., cochlear implants), whereas, if deaf people are viewed as members of linguistic and cultural minority, technologies are harnessed to make it easier for that minority to interact with the majority culture (e.g, relay systems). It will consider how deaf people have used, created, and adopted technologies to their own ends. It will also explore the complicated, and controversial, relationship between Deaf people and medical technologies such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Class 3, Credit 3 (offered biannually)

HIST-333 Diversity in the Deaf Community

Students in this course will be introduced to the study of diversity in the Deaf community related to race, ethnicity, sexuality and other factors. Students will learn to analyze the implications of such diversity in terms of self-perception, self-esteem, and acculturation. Students also will learn how the Deaf experience transcends race, ethnicity and other factors to bond members of the Deaf community and help define Deaf culture. Class 3, Credit 3 (F)

HIST-334 Women and the Deaf Community

Deaf history, as a field, has often neglected the story of deaf women. Scholar Arlene B. Kelly has recently asked, Where is deaf herstory? This course seeks to correct that gender imbalance in deaf history. We will study deaf women's history. This will include a consideration of deaf-blind women, as well, as women like Helen Keller were often the most famous deaf women of their era. But this course also seeks to look at the role of hearing women in deaf history. Hearing women dominated the field of deaf education in the late nineteenth century. They had a tremendous impact on the lives of deaf children and the events of deaf educational history. Hearing women were also important figures in deaf history as mothers. As mothers of deaf children, hearing women were frequently asked to behave as teachers in the home. Their embrace of this role often led them to endorse oral education, and oppose the sign language. Hearing mothers in this way were pitted against their adult deaf daughters, who frequently went on to learn sign language against their mothers' wishes. The historically complex relationship between women and the deaf community will be explored in this course. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered biannually)

HIST-345 Environmental Disasters

This class will survey the history environmental disasters (from floods to oil spills) in modern American and global society. Students will study several specific disasters (for example, Hurricane Katrina, the Great Midwestern Floods of the 1990s, Love Canal, and the Haitian Earthquake of 2008) and analyze a series of broader themes that illuminate their meaning, including the economic impact of various disasters, the legal and political ramifications of modern disasters, and the social and cultural meaning of disasters in various societies. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered annually)

HIST-350 Terrorism, Intelligence, and War

This course investigates the historical, political, moral, and legal dimensions of terrorism, intelligence, and war. It uses a case-study approach with themes that include just war theory, terrorism in the colonial and post-colonial worlds, domestic terrorism, and mechanisms of intelligence and covert operations. Class 3, Credit 3 (S)

HIST-365 Conflict in Modern East Asia

The twentieth century has sometimes been called the Pacific Century, which is ironic since this period of time has been anything but pacific! The twentieth century saw the rise of four great pacific powers: the US, Japan, China and the Soviet Union, and saw the eclipse of several others, including the British and French Empires. Furthermore a major front of the Cold War was played out on the Asian continent, namely the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as the US standoff with Communist China. And of course the Second World War, the greatest concentrated period of human destruction, played out at the midpoint of the twentieth century. This class will analyze these conflicts both as conflicts in and of themselves, but will also look at the backdrop against which these conflicts were played out. Beginning with the subjugation of China in the 19th century, our class will examine the many conflicts that defined this region through the end of the twentieth century. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered annually)

HIST-369 Histories of Christianity

The history of Christianity is not simply the history of the religion of the west. Rather, Christian history is a long and complex movement that has profoundly affected Asia, Africa, Europe, and the New World. At various times there were several competing ideologies of Christianity, of which the west's was only a single example. Christianity also has a long history of interacting with other religions, from Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism to Judaism and Islam. This course will trace the development of Christianity paying special attention to how the Christian tradition developed in places such as Africa and Asia. We will, of course, also study Christianity in its western forms, but we will make an effort to dive into the rich tradition of this religion in all its many forms. Class 3, Credit 3 (offered annually)

HIST-380 International Business History

This course provides an overview on the history of international business since the late 19th century. We will examine social change over time in how corporations have handled expansion into foreign markets, why corporations decided to – or not to – expand abroad, how they managed their foreign operations, and what contributed to their success or failure abroad. To do so, we will look at a variety of factors including how corporations dealt with corporate communication, local regulations, transfers of knowledge and technology, and how corporate decisions affect communities. We will apply these historical insights to case studies of multinational corporations. Class 3, Credit 3 (Spring)

HIST-381 Technology in the Modern World

Trains, planes, automobiles, phones and computers – modern technologies like these make our daily lives pleasant and convenient. Yet, many people around the globe lack access to these technologies. In this course, we will investigate the emergence of industrial manufacturing processes in late 18th century Britain that allowed for the development of these technologies. We will also examine how new technologies spread to other places in the world, how they shaped colonial relations, and what role they play in today’s developing world. In this course, you will gain a better understanding of how people around the world have shaped their technologies, and how technologies in turn have shaped them. Class 3, Credit 3 (Spring)

HIST-390 Medicine & Public Health in American History

This course introduces students to the social and cultural history of medicine by examining differing concepts of disease, health, and healing throughout American history. Themes include the professionalization of medicine, the role of science in medical research and practice, popular understanding and experience of health and illness, and the role of the state in providing medical care. We will explore how science and medicine defined social categories of difference, including race and gender, and how these categories in turn shaped medical thought and practice. The course format combines lectures, discussions, and films and readings include historical documents and case studies. Class 3, Credit 3 (Spring)